With this being my first post of 2020 for "John's Race Space," I may want to focus more on commentary than trying to review as many different racing/driving games as possible. Still... happy new year!
Before I Begin: My Credentials...
My experiences and thoughts will be based on playing "Test Drive Unlimited" on the PlayStation 2 followed by "Test Drive Unlimited 2" on the PlayStation 3.Test Drive Unlimited Can Be Much More
The Test Drive Unlimited series is a fine series for what it is. However, it can always improve. I'll set the mood of this post with a picture. Check it...
^ from: (Wallpaper Stock) - Cool cars in an open world game. Welcome to the Test Drive Unlimited series.
Let me provide a little background before I prove my main points.
Test Drive Unlimited was called "the most significant quantum leap in racing games since Gran Turismo" by Gamespot(?) when TDU1 was released in 2006. The game attempted to not only provide driving and racing the hottest sports cars and exotics, but also feature lifestyle aspects of owning houses and clothes. Non PS2 versions of TDU had other kinds of vehicles you can own and even included extra competitions. Your playground in TDU1 was the island of Oahu, which is simply called Hawaii in the game. You need to buy houses to store more cars. Houses can range from 4-car garages to 10-car garages.
Then came "Test Drive Unlimited 2" in 2011. TDU2 included an overhauled Oahu along with one new locale- Ibiza. So you could now enjoy the TDU lifestyle on the Baleric island that is both a tourist paradise and an entertainment destination. You could even visit Ibiza's two hottest nightclubs in TDU2- Space and Pacha. To make TDU2 more interesting, a storyline was added. Enter TDU2's racing competition- the Solar Crown. This racing championship is meant to provide a decent single-player campaign. You must prove your worth against a bunch of racers in a variety of cars in Ibiza and Hawaii. Can you win the Solar Crown? You still need to buy houses to store more cars. You can now customize your homes with different furniture options. You can make your house YOUR house. While a foolish addition to the game, you also can visit a cosmetic surgeon to change up your looks. If you go around the two locales, you may find Wrecks that you can be able to get a brand new car to add to your collection.
After a while, TDU then gave way to the Gear.Club series. While TDU2 was a great game, it could have been much better. Some may even think the whole TDU concept could be improved. There lies my motivation to blog about how to make TDU better.
Test Drive Unlimited: What Went Wrong?
[Especially] Test Drive Unlimited 2 left lots to be desired. It had everything- a great lineup of cars, a beautiful open-world setting, lots of events, plenty of sweet houses, and a lot more. Its execution, however, really let down TDU2. I mostly think TDU in general could benefit from a lot more tweaks to make it really shine in its own style of game.First of all, the clothing choices can be pretty horrid. Some of the clothing options were very weak and not as stylish... or at least for male characters. I am not sure about the feminine clothing options. Anyhow, some of the clothes choices could have been better. If we are talking about enhancing your in-game avatar, I would have liked customization to be like "Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas." You could have everything from clothes to even specific haircuts in "GTA: San Andreas." The customization element just seems weak overall in TDU2. You can find other ways of enhancing your character than what TDU2 had to offer.
I won't complain much about the races and race types. At times, though, I wish some of the races could be more entertaining with better AI. The game can be weird in how some races have such delayed starts and how wonky the driving physics can be. I almost feel scared doing jumps in TDU2 because the physics can really screw up the vehicle. What I WILL complain about, however, is that you tend to have to do some grinding if you want to pick up more cars. Extra money can be a hassle if you want more expensive cars or more expensive houses.
The non-racing aspects of TDU games is also a great bit questionable. I dislike the whole concept of discovery, especially when the difference between 100% exploration can come down to you missing an onramp, somebody's driveway, a parking lot, or anything like that. I wish you can just get a general claim of a certain area to qualify for proper discovery. I would be perfectly fine with exploring a greater majority of an area to have it be complete exploration of an area. I liked the idea in TDU1 of renting cars. You can still test out cars, but it was a novel idea to simply rent certain cars to maybe compete in certain races or simply to enjoy experiencing certain machines. Tuning and customizing cars was a very nice experience in the TDU games. This game series made choosing things like car color, wheel choices, and interior trims wonderful. The Test Drive Unlimited games provide perhaps the most immersion of automobiles in any racing/driving game.
I thought the Car Wash thing is an absolute joke in TDU2. You aren't getting your car repaired or anything- you are simply greeted by some hot women washing down your car. I swear I only did the Car Wash thing ONCE and never again. Mostly a waste of disc space. I don't mind hot women; I'm just disappointed at the whole car wash deal in TDU2.
If you can tell by my rants, most of my ranting was over TDU2. It's appropriate I do so since TDU3 will have to try to right the wrongs of TDU2 to be any kind of success.
Test Drive Unlimited: How to Improve.
For those turned off by what Test Drive Unlimited 2 had to offer with "Test Drive Unlimited 3" in the works, let me share some of what I think needs to change for TDU3.• No more cheesy Solar Crown! It does help provide a single-player diversion from having to always be focused on multiplayer, but at least make something more intriguing. You want to have something fun to fall back on if and when the official servers officially shut down.
• Keep the fine amount of vehicles and simply add to them. TDU2 had a fairly nice collection of automobiles. TDU2 would later include motorcycles. I say add some more motorcycles ranging from cruisers to sport bikes to even scooters. I am somewhat thinking of also dirt motorcycles for off-roading.
• Allow greater customization for vehicles.
• Improve driving/riding physics. Test Drive Unlimited is more arcade than sim, so don't try to make the game seem very realistic. I certainly cringe at making jumps that somehow stop my momentum and speed considerably.
I can't think of many more things I want to see change, but those are some of my own thoughts on where the TDU series can improve for if/when future installments of this series surface.
If you were disappointed in Test Drive Unlimited tries to offer, how would YOU change the series? I only offer my own thoughts based on my own experiences and opinions. You all are free to express yourselves any way you please. Thank you for reading! Take care and be well.
| Support My Creative Works! | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| JMDesigns | Patreon | Soundcloud | Bandcamp | Twitch | OpenGameArt | TurboSquid |
| Get Social With Me! | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Facebook (Friends) | Facebook (Fans) | YouTube | LinkedIn (professionals only) | |||
| Questions or Comments? Contact Me (serious inquiries only)... |
|---|
| Contact Me via E-Mail |
Posts
0 Comments:
Post a Comment